Lindsey Graham is stepping down as the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

[MelissaB]

JUST IN: Lindsey Graham is stepping down as the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Chuck Grassley will assume Chair, a role he has previously held.

Link to tweet

[2naSalit]

1. Not soon enough.

And not stepping down far enough, like resigning, which he should do, traitor that he is.

[SCantiGOP]

49. See post 43 below

There is nothing going on here. Just Grassley using his seniority to take back the Judiciary Committee.

[2naSalit]

58. I understand that.

[SCantiGOP]

68. I just put my answer here so it would be seen

Dozens of people below obviously didn't get it, since there was so much speculation about why he was stepping down.

[tavernier]

2. What did you dooo, Lindsay?

Bad boy!

[LAS14]

3. Anybody know why? Speculations?

Does he not want to be in charge of a Trump trial?

[TheBlackAdder]

8. He was the #1 Trump visitor and is probably implicated in some of the soon unearthed deeds.

[cbdo2007]

18. I saw some ad on Facebook about him with a pool boy

but who knows

[Martin Eden]

46. He's stepping down to spend more quality time

With his wet little friend.

[Joe941]

60. He is stepping down so he can concentrate on impeachment defense.

[maxsolomon]

67. Can he do that as a "Juror"?

He led the House Impeachment Managers in Clinton's trial, but I thought the Senate was the Jury - they don't participate in the trial except in that capacity.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

4. Is the PRESSURE to defend the indefensible getting to be too much?

This could be seen as a SURRENDER of sorts.

Trump defender steps down as Senate Judiciary Chair. Better to be partisan that way I reckon.

[zaj]

5. They don't want his quotes used against him?

It he's going to become a target?

[TheBlackAdder]

6. Mr. Death Panels himself. The guy with almost as little credibility as Graham now has.

[Nictuku]

7. Wow!

Is he going to be promoted to a cabinet position?

[nolabear]

11. I wondered that too. You know, squid pro quo.

[rusty fender]

56. Hahahaha

Squid pro quo

[bdamomma]

61. Oh that's funny

squid pro quo,

[C_U_L8R]

9. Conflict of interest or something more nefarious

There could be bombshells to come that take down some trump collaborators like Graham.

[nolabear]

10. An important appointment? A conflict of interest? A saucy blackmail scheme?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. It's hard to manage an important committee

when your lips are stuck to someone else’s ass.

[Hortensis]

21. This may be a good part. Competence. Grassley will take over again as of

the 117th congress. He did such a good job getting Gorsuch and Kavanaugh lifetime appointments on SCOTUS.

And then, of course, there're the other dangers. Like being too close to Trump and being a prime beneficiary of Kremlin-funneled donations. But maybe they don't expect any major shocks immediately?

And, who knows, maybe they find his performances snarling and slathering epithets at Democrats for the cameras too valuable not to maximize.

[Eliot Rosewater]

29. ...

[CaptainTruth]

31. Ass?

[lindysalsagal]

38. That's absolutely disgusting.

And completely hilarious!

[JaneQPublic]

13. Putin must be wagging those blackmail videos and emails in Lindsey's face.

From Dec 2016:

https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/14/politics/lindsey-graham-hacking-russia-donald-trump/index.html

[OnDoutside]

19. If that were the case he would stay where he is.

[bdamomma]

62. Reading that article

Graham made a about face, the Russians hacked him, and is so up tRump's backside. Hmm....tRump and the Russians are funneling money to these repigs/blackmailing them perhaps.

[pecosbob]

14. Next Congress

Graham will hand chairmanship back to Grassley next Congress. Unless I misunderstand that means January 2021. The REpublicans will have to hold the Senate or they don't get tp pick the chairman of the committee.

[lunatica]

15. Conflict of interest?

He must not be perceived to be biting the hand that feeds him. Especially by the owner of said hand.

[RAB910]

16. Just remember we can thwart this plan if we get enough people to vote these traitors out of office

[Mike Nelson]

17. The other Senators...

...must have had a talk with him. He can't be a chair and a Trump spokesperson... especially during impeachment... it would make the Senators look like Devan Nunes.

[Thomas Hurt]

20. Commander Bedbug traded him a cabinet position next term, if he wins, for his support.

[The Genealogist]

22. Leningrad Lapdog Lindsey may be too much of a sycophant even for the Republicans

I mean, he is like a plecostomus on Trumps ass. They probably want a paper thin veneer of respectability for a Senate impeachment trial, and it would be hard to achieve this when you can't pry the committee chair from the defendant's rear.

[hatrack]

59. I had to look up "plecostomus" - and I learned something new . . .

[The Genealogist]

70. We had fish tanks when I was a kid

I think my dad just liked the word "plecostomus" and used it all the time!

[Buckeyeblue]

23. It's not until 2021--and then only if the Senate still holds a majority

[moondust]

24. New job on a garbage truck?

Plenty of experience moving garbage.

[onecaliberal]

25. Is something going to come out?

[onetexan]

69. I was wondering the same thing - another shoe about to drop that implicates Graham

[malaise]

26. New Chief of Staff or about to join the Con's legal team? n/t

[Chickensoup]

27. Best news I heard today.

What a pathetic person.

[edhopper]

28. He plans to defend Trump in the Senate hearing

he can't as Judiciary Chair.

[lindysalsagal]

39. What? Rudy wasn't available?

Awwww. Too baaaaad.

[wiley]

42. Yep

Wouldn't put it past him even as Chair though.

[tritsofme]

53. Why do you think that?

This story is about Graham stepping down as chairman in 2021, he will absolutely and unashamedly defend Trump in the Senate trial while chairman.

[edhopper]

65. I did not see that 2021 date

but you are right. No amount of corruption and hypocrisy is too great for them.

[roamer65]

30. Pootie has compromat on Lindsey.

He was ordered to defend Dump.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

32. Grassley is awake?

[onethatcares]

37. more like

Grassley is alive?????

[tritsofme]

33. This is for the next Congress. Grassley was term limited by GOP rules

He can go back in the next Congress. I don’t think this is significant in regards to Trump, he’ll be gone when this happens, and hopefully it will be Grassley returning as ranking member, not chairman.

[Arazi]

34. This is for 2021 (and I presume he'll only move if the Rs keep control of the Senate)

Grassley is the senior Senator and is choosing where he wants to be if the Rs keep control of the committees

[Meadowoak]

36. Isn't Grassley like 100?

[StarfishSaver]

43. I really wish people would read the articles they're tweeting. It would save a lot of confusion

Lindsey Graham will give Judiciary chairmanship back to Chuck Grassley
Senate Republicans will go through another game of musical chairs in the next Congress.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) plans to hand the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee back to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa.) in the next Congress.

Graham took over the panel this year from Grassley, who left to chair the Senate Finance Committee.

In an interview Thursday, Graham said Grassley asked to come back after his tenure on the Senate Finance Committee. Graham responded “absolutely.”

“Love Chuck Grassley. That’s the way the Senate works,” Graham said. “He took the Finance Committee so I could be chairman, and he’ll come back and fill out his time, and I’ll come back, and somebody else will come along.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/31/graham-judiciary-chairmanship-grassley-062993

[Crowman2009]

35. In related news, Lindsay will spend extra time...

...trying to shove his head further up Drumpf's ass.

[StarfishSaver]

40. NO! This headline is very misleading!

Graham is NOT "stepping down" any time soon.

As the article says, he will not become chair again when the new Senate convenes in 2021 but will instead defer to former Chair Chuck Grassley so that Grassley can chair the committee again before he's aged out under Senate rules (and only if the Republicans keep the majority).

This is NO BIG DEAL.

[crickets]

47. +1

[braddy]

52. Yep 2021

[lillypaddle]

41. Taking Mulvaney's place?

stole the idea off twitter.

[Hekate]

44. Misleading headline, and you got my hopes all up

[OnDoutside]

48. Rick Wilson tweet

Link to tweet

[OldRed2450]

50. Maybe this is why?

“During the 2015-2016 election season, Ukrainian-born billionaire Leonard ‘Len’ Blavatnik contributed $6.35 million to leading Republican candidates and incumbent senators.

“Other high dollar recipients of funding from Blavatnik were PACS representing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at $1.1 million, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham at $800,000, Ohio Governor John Kasich at $250,000 and Arizona Senator John McCain at $200,000.”

While he was at it, Blavatnik also made sure and donated a cool $1 million to the Trump Inaugural Committee.




https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/03/gop-campaigns-took-7-35-million-from-oligarch-linked-to-russia/

[AncientGeezer]

51. No he isn't.....

[onenote]

54. MISLEADING.

The kind of OP that makes DU look bad.

[onenote]

55. Question for the OP: Did you even read the article you linked?

Because if you had, you would know that we're talking about a change next Congress

[kentuck]

57. The new Secretary of Defense?

He must have been offered something?

[kairos12]

63. Leningrad Lindsey was probably directed by Putin.

[tblue37]

64. Not immediately. After the next election, if the Republicans keep the Senate majority. nt

[SummerSnow]

66. IMO, this is Mulvaney out, Graham is new COS